A few years ago, subsistence was a word routinely applied to agriculture in the semi-arid tropics. Farmers produced crops for their own consumption and barely made ends meet. But farmers, tired of being poor, are asking new questions. Farming in the SAT is not just about livelihoods. It’s about business.
Everybody knows that groundnuts (or peanuts, as they are known in many countries) provide a tasty snack. But few people in the developed world are aware that groundnuts are also an essential part of the diets of millions of poor people. In West Africa, groundnut, which is rich in protein, oil, amino acids and vitamins, is both an important food and a cash crop.
In the late nineties, ICRISAT began looking into the integration of legumes into the rice/wheat systems of South Asia’s Indo-Gangetic Plains. While logistics were being worked out in Delhi, representatives of ICRISAT and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) realized they could benefit from each other’s help, and a successful collaboration was born.
Everybody knows that groundnuts (or peanuts, as they are known in many countries) provide a tasty snack. But few people in the developed world are aware that groundnuts are also an essential part of the diets of millions of poor people. In West Africa, groundnut, which is rich in protein, oil, amino acids and vitamins, is both an important food and a cash crop.
In the late nineties, ICRISAT began looking into the integration of legumes into the rice/wheat systems of South Asia’s Indo-Gangetic Plains. While logistics were being worked out in Delhi, representatives of ICRISAT and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) realized they could benefit from each other’s help, and a successful collaboration was born.
Groundnut is one of the most important crops in West and Central Africa (WCA). Managed almost exclusively by women, it is a source of high protein and energy for children, as well as highquality feed for livestock.
Drought has stalked southern Africa for a long time, and the biggest victims are invariably smallholder farmers. Working on nutrient-starved soils, with little access to modern technologies, markets or credit, they lived from season to season. Many aimed simply to feed their families, and in many years they failed. But things are changing, thanks to partnerships engendered by ICRISAT and implemented through the SADC/ICRISAT Sorghum and Millet Improvement Program (SMIP), which completes its activities this year.
Chickpea has exploded in popularity among farmers in Myanmar, with ICRISAT’s warhorse ICCV 2 riding the crest of this wave. The area cultivated to this immensely successful variety has witnessed a spectacular fourfold increase over the past three years. Considering that the average yield of chickpea in Myanmar increased from 660 to 1007 kg/ha during this time span, such accelerated adoption is understandable.
Drought is possibly the most complex and least understood of natural hazards. The effects of drought accumulate slowly and linger for years. It is estimated that 380 million people, 38% of the world’s rural poor, live in the arid and semi-arid tropics (SAT). Of those who are vulnerable to drought, more than 90% are either smallholder farmers or landless laborers. The Committee on Science and Technology for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, in its fifth session last year, issued a note on strategies for communicating relevant information on combating the effects of drought.
Timor-Leste, the world’s newest country, was formerly a Portuguese colony and subsequently an Indonesian province. When its inhabitants overwhelmingly voted for independence in August 1999, terrible civil strife ensued, resulting in widespread damage to infrastructure and disruption of farming activities.
The Sahel… in Arabic the word means coastline, or edge. The Sahel is the great dryland belt underlying the Sahara Desert, the northern perimeter of subSaharan Africa; in other words, the desert margin – a bleak, unforgiving landscape.
ICRISAT’s soil laboratory registers with FAO’s International Network on Ferti...ICRISAT
The Charles Renard Analytical Laboratory at ICRISAT has been officially registered with the International Network on Fertilizer Analysis – a network created in December 2020, to build and strengthen the capacity of laboratories in fertilizer analysis and harmonize fertilizer quality standards. Dr Pushpajeet L Choudhari, Manager of the soil laboratory, said that testing serves as a preventive measure to avoid the misuse of fertilizers leading to better soil management.
Uzbek delegation explores climate-resilient crop options for arid, degraded e...ICRISAT
A delegation from Uzbekistan visited ICRISAT headquarters in India in search of a short-duration second crop suited to arid ecologies that mature before winter. The visit aligns with the Government of Uzbekistan’s efforts to increase agricultural production through double cropping. The visitors were briefed on dryland crop options and expressed interest in academic exchanges and internships based on the Institute’s expertise in genomic technologies and dryland agri-food systems.
Indian Ambassador to Niger explores opportunities for South-South cooperationICRISAT
The Ambassador of India to Niger, His Excellency Mr Prem K Nair, visited ICRISAT’s research station at Sadore, to explore opportunities for South-South collaboration. He said that the objective of his visit was to learn about ICRISAT’s activities in Niger and to identify possible areas of cooperation for implementing agri-development initiatives introduced by India.
WFP, ICRISAT to partner on climate-resilience, food security, nutrition and l...ICRISAT
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) will partner on programs and research to improve food, nutrition security and livelihoods in India against the impacts of climate change. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today between Mr. Bishow Parajuli, WFP India Representative and Country Director, and Dr. Jacqueline Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT.
Visit by Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner to ICRISAT opens opportunities f...ICRISAT
Dr Doraiswamy Venkateshwaran, Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner stationed in Chennai, recently visited the ICRISAT campus in Hyderabad to learn more about the Institute’s science-backed research for dryland agriculture. Along with his team, he visited the genebank and toured the pigeonpea and finger millet field plots, where Dr Prakash Gangashetty and Dr Sobhan Sajja explained to him the research focus and various traits of hybrids and varieties developed by ICRISAT.
UK Ambassador to Niger discusses climate change adaptation and humanitarian i...ICRISAT
Niger needs support for the implementation of climate change adaptation measures,” said Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Niger, Ms Catherine Inglehearn while on a recent visit to ICRISAT-Niger. She spoke about the ongoing discussion with the government regarding Niger’s participation at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) meeting in November 2021 in Glasgow.
New climate-resilient, disease-resistant chickpea varieties coming farmers’ wayICRISAT
Three new chickpea varieties, with enhanced drought tolerance, disease resistance and increased yield, are set to become available to the Indian farmers. These have been notified to be available for cultivation by the Central Varietal Release Committee. Calling for the deployment of ‘fast-forward breeding’, a newly conceived framework that promises faster delivery of varieties to farmers, Dr Rajeev Varshney, Research Program Director – Accelerated Crop Improvement, ICRISAT, who coordinated the integration of genomics-assisted breeding activities for developing these varieties
Deputy Collector gets training on agriculture research at ICRISAT HyderabadICRISAT
Mrs Bikumalla Santoshi, Deputy Collector of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district in Telangana, India, visited ICRISAT, Hyderabad recently as part of her orientation and training in agricultural research. Mrs Santoshi toured the campus and learnt about the research done on dryland cereals and legumes at ICRISAT’s centers in India as well as Africa.
Cereal-legume value chain stakeholders in WCA meet to develop demand-driven a...ICRISAT
ICRISAT’s Gender Research Program recently brought together breeders, value chain stakeholders and social scientists from Mali, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Nigeria to define priority traits of cultivars of sorghum, millet and groundnut during a 4-day workshop. Prior to the workshop, studies were carried out with the national agricultural research systems (NARS) partners in the above countries, to examine and assess the trait preferences of key stakeholders, especially taking into account the specificity of traits with respect to gender-related needs. The results of these studies were presented during the workshop. The expected output is priority trait demands translated into new market-driven and gender-responsive product profiles for the breeding programs at ICRISAT and NARS.
ICRISAT to share expertise on sorghum production with farmers in SomaliaICRISAT
ICRISAT is collaborating with the Somali Agricultural Technical Group (SATG) to provide technical support for sorghum production in Somalia. The expertise provided includes identification of sorghum varieties suitable for Somalia, provision of breeder seed of the identified varieties and training of SATG staff and their partners in sorghum seed production.
4CAST: New digital tool to enhance farmers’ access to modern varietiesICRISAT
To improve smallholder farmers’ access to new improved varieties, a digital variety catalog tool created by ICRISAT in partnership with public and private institutions was recently launched. Called 4CAST, the tool is a user-friendly data driven platform that gives information about new improved varieties, quality and availability of seeds nationally and regionally. 4CAST, which stands for Digital Tools 4 Cataloguing and Adopting Improved Seed Technologies, also provides stakeholders in seed value chains a digital workflow, decentralized access, real-time tracking of progress, private catalogues as well as seed roadmaps.
New ‘one-stop shop’ team formed to take ICRISAT’S plant breeding program in W...ICRISAT
ICRISAT West and Central Africa has reorganized all disciplines of agronomic research (agronomy, breeding, biotechnology/ genomics, integrated crop management, physiology, sociology, agroeconomics, etc.) under one umbrella called the Crop Improvement Operations Team (CIOT). A “one-stop shop” for all crop improvement operations, the CIOT was launched on Tuesday 24 August 2021 at ICRISAT’s Samanko research station in Mali.
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been awarded the 2021 Africa Food Prize, for work that has improved food security across 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. ICRISAT, a CGIAR Research Center, is a non-profit, non-political public international research organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.
Rooting for strong partnerships and participatory extension in Nigeria for ro...ICRISAT
To enhance partnerships and make the extension systems for cereals and legumes production technologies in Nigeria more participatory, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and ICRISAT recently organized a workshop for agencies implementing the Kano State Agro Pastoral Development Project.
Understanding consumption preferences for sorghum and millets globallyICRISAT
In support of the objectives of the International Year of Millets (2023), a global study, “Prioritizing Regular Intake of Sorghum and Millets (PRISM)”, is being conducted to understand the potential drivers of sorghum and millets consumption. PRISM is a collaborative effort of researchers in the Markets, Institutions and Policy team at ICRISAT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) to understand the choices that drive the consumption of these nutricereals and to explore their increased inclusion in diets globally for the good of dryland farmers, human health and the environment.
ICRISAT introduces an invigorated research structure (The research structure ...ICRISAT
A robust, more efficient research structure is part of the reorganization initiative at ICRISAT that aims at building a cohesive and interconnected body of work in agricultural research. The revitalized framework is expected to seamlessly integrate and deliver agricultural research outputs across the drylands of Asia and Africa. The strength of this framework is the deeply interlinked global and regional programs working towards common and interdependent goals.
Training on science communication to engage funders and stakeholdersICRISAT
Communicating research findings to policy makers, peers and civil society is crucial for research uptake and development. To meet this goal, a one-day training session on messaging through newsletters and journal articles was held for participants of the International Training Programme on Climate Change – Mitigation and Adaptation of the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) at ICRISAT, Mali.
Virtual training in the use of remote sensing for the agriculture sector in P...ICRISAT
A virtual hands-on training program on developing geospatial maps for supporting insurance products using Google Earth Engine and semi-automatic techniques was conducted for participants in Pakistan as part of the project “Strengthening Post-COVID-19 Food Security and Locust Attacks”. The nine participants were from the PARC Agrotech company (PATCO) technical team and crop reporting service teams from Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan. They were introduced to remote sensing and its applications in agriculture. Hands-on training using Google Earth Engine (GEE), Image Processing Software – ERDAS 2015 and various automatic classification techniques was provided along with several applications for using these modern tools.
ICRISAT pleased to share this five-year Strategic Plan 2021-2025 which builds on our extensive partnerships, networking and our understanding of the needs on the ground and sets out our current expertise with our vision for the next five years of a streamlined, targeted research for development institution, working closely with our partners and stakeholders in the private and public sectors.
ICRISAT and HarvestPlus to collaborate on mainstreaming nutrition research an...ICRISAT
ICRISAT and HarvestPlus signed an agreement for scientific and technical collaboration between the two global organizations. Mr Arun Baral, CEO, HarvestPlus, and Dr Jacqueline d’Arros Hughes, Director General, ICRISAT, signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which is made and entered into by IFPRI on behalf of its HarvestPlus Program. On the occasion, Dr Hughes said, After 17 years of fruitful collaboration on biofortification research, we have now decided to elevate this partnership. ICRISAT and HarvestPlus will work together more closely, making available micronutrient-rich varieties, high-quality seed and related technologies to the farming communities and consumers. This will contribute to eliminating micronutrient malnutrition in the drylands.